CDW

CDW LLC, headquartered in Vernon Hills, Illinois, is a provider of technology products and services for business, government and education.

The company has a secondary division known as CDW-G, devoted solely to United States governmental purchasers, such as from schools, universities, cities, and the state and federal government.

CDW was originally incorporated as "MPK Computing" by its founding member Michael Krasny, who currently ranks on Fortune magazine's list of the wealthiest Americans. It later became Computer Discount Warehouse and then simply CDW.

In early 2006, CDW opened a 513,000-square-foot (47,700 m²) distribution center in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The Vernon Hills, Illinois distribution center is roughly 450,000 square feet (42,000 m²).

In October 2006 CDW acquired Berbee, a top tier reseller of IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft products and services. It was CDW's second major acquisition after purchasing Micro Warehouse in September 2003. The Micro Warehouse acquisition had brought CDW locations in NJ, VA, CT, and Toronto.

Glycoprotein 130

Glycoprotein 130 (also known as gp130, IL6ST, IL6-beta or CD130) is a transmembrane protein which is the founding member of the class of all cytokine receptors. It forms one subunit of the type I cytokine receptor within the IL-6 receptor family. It is often referred to as the common gp130 subunit, and is important for signal transduction following cytokine engagement. As with other type I cytokine receptors, gp130 possesses a WSXWS amino acid motif that ensures correct protein folding and ligand binding. It interacts with Janus kinases to elicit an intracellular signal following receptor interaction with its ligand. Structurally, gp130 is composed of five fibronectin type-III domains and one immunoglobulin-like C2-type (immunoglobulin-like) domain in its extracellular portion.

Characteristics

The members of the IL-6 receptor family all complex with gp130 for signal transduction. For example, IL-6 binds to the IL-6 Receptor. The complex of these two proteins then associates with gp130. This complex of 3 proteins then homodimerizes to form a hexameric complex which can produce downstream signals. There are many other proteins which associate with gp130, such as cardiotrophin 1 (CT-1), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), oncostatin M (OSM), and IL-11. There are also several other proteins which have structural similarity to gp130 and contain the WSXWS motif and preserved cysteine residues. Members of this group include LIF-R, OSM-R, and G-CSF-R.

BMPR1B

Bone morphogenetic protein receptor type-1B also known as CDw293 (cluster of differentiation w293) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BMPR1B gene.

Function

BMPR1B is a member of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptor family of transmembrane serine/threonine kinases. The ligands of this receptor are BMPs, which are members of the TGF-beta superfamily. BMPs are involved in endochondral bone formation and embryogenesis. These proteins transduce their signals through the formation of heteromeric complexes of 2 different types of serine (threonine) kinase receptors: type I receptors of about 50-55 kD and type II receptors of about 70-80 kD. Type II receptors bind ligands in the absence of type I receptors, but they require their respective type I receptors for signaling, whereas type I receptors require their respective type II receptors for ligand binding.

The BMPR1B receptor plays a role in the formation of middle and proximal phalanges.

Clinical significance

Mutations in this gene have been associated with primary pulmonary hypertension.

CCR8 (gene)

Chemokine (C-C motif) receptor 8, also known as CCR8, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the CCR8 gene. CCR8 has also recently been designated CDw198 (cluster of differentiation w198).

Function

This gene encodes a member of the beta chemokine receptor family, which is predicted to be a seven transmembrane protein similar to G protein-coupled receptors. Chemokines and their receptors are important for the migration of various cell types into the inflammatory sites. This receptor protein preferentially expresses in the thymus. The ligand of the CCR8 is CCL1. CCL8 also functions as a CCR8 agonist.

Studies of this receptor and its ligands suggested its role in regulation of monocyte chemotaxis and thymic cell apoptosis. More specifically, this receptor may contribute to the proper positioning of activated T cells within the antigenic challenge sites and specialized areas of lymphoid tissues. This gene is located at the chemokine receptor gene cluster region.

See also